Customer Reviews
Once in the grip of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS you will not stop! - By: Realm Ghuardian @, 02 Jun 2008 
When a man bent on revenge encounters a woman that is good & kind their fate gets intertwined. But will the scintillating passion be enough to overcome alll the obstacles when truth wants to find a way to be revealed? It is a battle of character & courage as the enemy reaches out with his clutches & wants to ruin everything in its path...
Shannon McKenna has left me alll hot & bothered & clamoring for more after reading my first encounter with her work, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. In no way could anything prepare me for the sizzling emotional rollercoaster ride & throughout the book I wondered: `Can a crude, bold, brass male character whom refuses to leash his tongue, in more ways than one, claim me in such a demanding way?' Well, as I closed this book I can fully convinced say, YES! Seth appeared in the story & immediately sucker punched me with his straight forward behavior & wasn't ashamed of it either.
With Seth's very intricate nature Shannon McKenna gives this novel a man that will get alll your senses flaring to life. But he will also rub you the wrong way at times, even have full-fleshed, pissed off moments at what he has done as he alll did it with me. Nevertheless, it is only the stunning way this author tells his story & discloses his background that alllows Seth to just be the man he is at heart & no apologies being made for it that is such a part of his appeal. If you think that this novel is alll about Seth think again for he will make quite an impression but without a worthy female adversary this story would have lost a lot of its high voltage vibe!
Raine may be a meek, colorless woman in the beginning but the slowly unveiling of her true nature proves to be very intriguing & triggering forbidden feelings within Seth who responses in the only way he knows how...with scorching mind blowing passion that would incinerate the pages if possible. For if there is one thing that is present in this story is sensuous, hot, page melting passion that will make the need for chocolate obsolete.
Just this quote alone should indicate a certain measure of it:
Having a gorgeous woman stare at his **** as if it were one of the Seven Wonders of the World did great things for his ego. A man's **** could never get enough female appreciation.
If there is one thing that rocked me to my core it is the incredible characterization, interaction & romance building in BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. But it was framed by a surprising plot & suspense that contained far going consequences for both Seth & Raine. For with Victor the past of both Raine & Seth is linked together & if Victor is anything it is cold, methodicallly precise & distant to any emotions what so ever. Moreover, with his personality he knows how to manipulate people & has no boundaries to get what he desires. He poses a threat to alll involved & I just gobbled up the pages like there was no tomorrow to finish reading it.
I would almost say that this romance-suspense story has too much testosterone....almost. For who doesn't want to get to know the McCloud brothers? They give off warning signals for future novels with their male bantering & ego's. Hints to past events that must have effected them in one way or another that gets you alll in the mood for a more "close encounter" with each of them. They are just what you need when the going gets tough, & for Seth & Raine the going gets tough...and in the end even tougher.
In the end alll I can say is that Shannon McKenna has made a statement with a high quality romance suspense story that gave me renewed passion for this genre. She masters alll the ingredients necessary for an alll consuming romance read & I closed this book with a fulfilled heart.
Once in the grip of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS you will not stop until the last word is read & will make you hunt down other novels by this fabulous author!
Reviewed by Leontine
Courtesy of Realms On Our Bookshelves
So Hot I Nearly Burnt My Fingers! - By: Betsy, 27 Jun 2007 This is the first book I read by Shannon McKenna and, well...wow! I have to admit when I bought the book I had only read the synopsis on a website, I was not prepared for the blantent sexuality which is present troughout alll her books. Raine is trying to get closer to her employer to find the truth behind the death of her father, leading her straight into the arms of Seth, a ruthless security expert who has been watching Raine for some time. Both trying to get closer to Victor the pair start a brutal affair which gets hearts pounding faster & faster. Shannon writes scenes which fit the context of her stories, though it is sometimes hard to understand why her heroines would falll for the heros when they display such violent possesive behaviour & go out of there way to make there bed partner surrender. There are no flowery edges to the love scenes in her books but that is exactly what we need these days. Have we not had enough of the 'love making' in the majority if romance books & the frankly amusing euphemisms for parts of the body! Don't misunderstand, I, like many other women enjoy the likes of Nora Roberts & her comtempories, but it is a refreshing to read a sexuallly candid book which targets what women secretly desire, becuase as much as our brain cannot understand any woman wanting to be overpowered, deep down this is exactly what we want to read about. I would recomend alll of Shannon's books, bit they should carry a warning, not for the faint hearted.
wow, what a fast pacing erotic read!, - By: S. YALCINKAYA, 20 Aug 2004 This is my first book from this author & then I immediately read the following ones. Even though Shannon Mckenna repeats herself in other series, she is a bright star in this genre. I liked the fast pacing storyline very much. If you dont like too controlling male characters you probably wont like it. On the other hand, I must say that it was an amazing read. I could not put it down, a real page turner. Great for lazy days, particularly perfect for the beach.
Behind Closed Doors has a good storyline & sizzling scenes. I recommend this book if you want to read suspense, love & some sex. I was entertained with Behind Closed Doors. Also recommended: 'Standing In The Shadows' by Shannon McKenna.
wow, what a fast pacing erotic read! - By: S. YALCINKAYA, 13 Aug 2004 This is my first book from this author & then I immediately read the following ones. Even though Shannon Mckenna repeats herself in other series, she is a bright star in this genre. I liked the fast pacing storyline very much. If you dont like too controlling, dominant & somewhat abusive male characters you probably wont like it. On the other hand, I must say that it was an amazing read. I could not put it down, a real page turner.
Behind Closed Doors has a good storyline & sizzling sex scenes. I recommend this book if you want to read suspense, love & sex. I was entertained with Behind Closed Doors. Also recommended: 'Standing In The Shadows' by Shannon McKenna.
Clever, hot and perceptive - By: K. Newman, 18 Aug 2003 A good combination of thriller & very erotic romance. There’s a lot of sex in this book, so if you object to such, then this is not a tale for you. However sex is used here as much to show how the two central characters change in the course of events, from power plays to tenderness, touching on punishment & eventuallly even forgiveness. In this, as well as the quality of writing, McKenna makes this about more than sex, & brings in something of the human condition, as well as drawing in other themes & subtexts of the novel. Thus, although plentiful, the erotic nature of the book actuallly adds meaning to the relationship & thus integrates into the story as a whole.
As for the thriller side, there is certainly no ‘mystery’ here – we know whodunnit & why the various characters are taking the actions that they are. The two central characters are Raine Cameron, who has recently begun working for identified baddie Victor Lazar, & Seth Mackey, whose brother had been killed 10 months prior to the opening of the book. All that drives Seth now is the need for vengeance. He likens himself to a cyborg – focused, emotionless & with a single purpose. To this end he has extensively bugged the house of Lazar’s mistress (Lazar being involved in his brothers death), which is now Raine’s house. Raine is actuallly related to Lazar, & blames him (rightly) for the death of her father. She has been on the run from Lazar for 13 years, & considers herself to be a bit of a coward – the shy, retiring, unnoticeable type. Now convinced that she needs to find out more of her fathers death, she has ‘infiltrated’ Lazars firm, supposedly anonymously – almost a joke as Lazar knows exactly who she is. Seth, for his part, has been watching Raine with fascination, becoming more & more attracted to her. And now the plan moves along, as he seeks to make contact with Lazar, & through him with Lazar’s new assistant. Both of them seeking knowledge & retribution, neither sure of who they can trust, both unable to deny the attraction they feel for the other. An attraction watched with interest by many…
It’s a very well thought out story, containing many elements. Revenge, hate, manipulation, rage, & the seamer side of life are definitely a part of it, but so too is a great deal of warmth & ‘family’ feeling. Seth on his side has the memories of his brother, & his developing relationship with the McCloud brothers (who I hope will have their own stories in the future). Raine brings her historical relationship with her parents, & her ongoing complex feelings about Lazar. There are others very central to the book too – Novak & Riggs whose roles become important in the telling of the story. There is no ‘mystery’, but a great deal of human nature, as characters change & develop as they deal with very real danger & cope with the shifting nature of reality. I particularly liked the triangle of Raine, Seth & Lazar’s roles as they played against each other.
Overalll I enjoyed the book very much, particularly as a study of human characteristics & relationships, & indeed & how we as individuals affect each other & touch each others lives, for better or worse. I liked very much that this ‘erotic thriller’ was deeper than a surface story, & that the characters within were constantly evolving not only as they grew & changed within themselves, but also in their dealings each other.
